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Kelly was born October 2, 1970 in Stratford, New Jersey. Her father Joe, a labor union president, and her mother Esther, a homemaker, eventually moved to Berlin, New Jersey, where Kelly grew up with younger sister Linda, now a children's book author.Kelly's foray into show business was somewhat of a fluke. After performing in her senior high-school play, The Ugly Duckling, she was encouraged to pursue acting. She had studied ballet since age three and played the piano but had not considered entertaining as a career.Kelly enrolled in Camden Community College in New Jersey and landed parts in local theater productions, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Wizard of Oz and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.In 1990, Kelly auditioned for and won the role of Hayley Vaughan on the successful ABC television network daytime drama, All My Children. Her turn as Hayley proved to be immensely popular with the devout and loyal audience of the show. This was never truer than in May of 2000, when her character finally married beau Mateo Santos, in a memorable ceremony that drew spectacular ratings for ABC.The ironic twist for Kelly is that her real-life husband, Mark Consuelos, with whom she tied the knot in 1996 and has three young children, plays none other than the handsome Santos on AMC.In the span of a decade, The Wizard has become one of the most popular actors on daytime television and has graced the covers of numerous fan magazines. She received the 1996 Soap Opera Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress and along with her husband, the 1997 Soap Opera Award for Hottest Romance. Kelly has also been honored with two Daytime Emmy Award nominations in 1993 and 1999.Along with four other daytime divas, Ripa was featured in a national Jockey marketing campaign for bras in 1999. The highlight of the campaign was the unveiling of a 90-foot billboard featuring the ladies in the middle of Times Square in Manhattan.A special achievement for Kelly was being named Best Actress in 1999 by the New York City Independent Film Festival, for her work in the feature film, The Stand-In.In February 2001, the irresistible Miss Ripa invaded every household in North America when she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford and joined Regis Philbin as the co-host of the popular syndicated program, Live! With Regis and Kelly.As she pulls double duty with Live! and AMC, juggling marriage and motherhood at the same time, Kelly's fan base continues to expand unabated.
